Rushout

A fast browser-based 2D arcade party game. Run, dodge, pass the pressure, grab power-ups, and survive the countdown in local or online multiplayer arenas.

Two ways to play:

• Online Rooms — join/create a room with a 6-character code (up to 13 players), powered by a Colyseus server.
• Local Same-Device — 2–4 players on one keyboard, entirely client-side (no network).

Architecture

tag/
├── client/    Vite + React + TypeScript app (menu, lobby, canvas game, HUD)
├── server/    Colyseus server (TagRoom, room lifecycle, authoritative logic)
├── shared/    Types, power-up configs, maps, and the Colyseus room-state schema
└── package.json

This is an npm workspace monorepo. shared is built first and imported by both client and server so gameplay and power-up logic is never duplicated.

• client → deploy to a static host (Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages).
• server → deploy to a long-running Node host with persistent WebSockets (Fly.io, Railway, Render) — not serverless/static.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• npm 10+

Getting Started (Dev Environment)

1. Install dependencies

From the repo root:

npm install

2. Build the shared package

shared must be compiled before the client/server can use it:

npm run build --workspace=shared

Or run the full build (shared + client + server) at any time:

npm run build

3. Start the Colyseus server (for online mode)

npm run dev:server

This runs the server in watch mode on port 2567 (configurable via --port or the PORT env var). You should see the Colyseus banner and:

Rushout server listening on port 2567

4. Start the client (frontend)

In a second terminal:

npm run dev:client

Opens the Vite dev server at http://localhost:3000.

Note on the local-only flow: Local multiplayer works entirely in the browser without the server. Only Create Room / Join Room (online mode) requires dev:server to be running.

Wiring the Client to the Server

The React client connects to the Colyseus server using the VITE_COLYSEUS_URL environment variable. Create a .env file in client/:

# client/.env
VITE_COLYSEUS_URL=ws://localhost:2567

If unset, the client defaults to ws://localhost:2567, so local dev works out of the box.

Common Scripts

Command	Description
npm run dev:client	Start Vite dev server
npm run dev:server	Start Colyseus server in watch mode on port 2567
npm run build	Build shared, then client, then server
npm run build --workspace=shared	Rebuild the shared package only
npm run build --workspace=client	Build the frontend only
npm run build --workspace=server	Build the Colyseus server only

Gameplay / Controls

Online Rooms

• Create Room → host configures round length, map, and power-ups, then gets a shareable room code.
• Join Room → enter the 6-character code.
• Each player controls their own character on their own device.

Local Same-Device (key zones)

Player	Move / Jump
Player 1	A/D move, W jump
Player 2	Left/Right move, Up jump
Player 3	F/H move, T jump
Player 4	4/6 move, 8 jump

Power-ups activate automatically when picked up.

Power-Ups (7 total)

Speed Surge · Freeze Pulse · Ghost Step · Blink Dash · Mirror Decoy · Safe Bubble · Sticky Patch

Pickups spawn on the map in a random rotation. Any player can grab one, and it activates immediately.

Deployment

• Client: build with npm run build --workspace=client, then host client/dist statically. Set VITE_COLYSEUS_URL to your deployed server's WebSocket URL.
• Server: build with npm run build --workspace=server, then run npm run start --workspace=server. If you later run multiple instances, add Redis to sync rooms across instances.